Chief Rothe Retires From The Air Force

A retirement ceremony was held in honor of Chief Master Sergeant Steve E. Rothe on January 28, at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. Steven E. Rothe is the son of Marion D. Rothe of Newtown and the late Frank E. Rothe.

Sergeant Steven E. Rothe, Chief, Network operations, logistics directorate, Air Combat Command, will retire from active duty on May 1 after more than 25 years of duty. Chief Rothe’s major awards, decorations and achievements include: Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters; Air Force Achievement Medal; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters and “V” for valor; Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters; Air Force Good Conduct Medal with seven oak leaf clusters; National Defense Service Medal; Southwest Asia Service Medal with two Campaign Stars; Air Force Overseas Short Tour Ribbon with one oak leaf cluster; Air Force Overseas Long Tour Ribbon; Air Force Longevity Service Award with five oak leaf clusters; USAF NCO Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon with two oak leaf clusters; Small Arms Expert Marksmanship ribbon; Air Force Training ribbon; Kuwait Liberation Campaign medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia); and Kuwait Liberation Campaign medal (Government of Kuwait).

Chief Master Sergeant Steven E. Rothe distinguished himself as F-16/F-117 avionics superintendent and chief, network operations, directorate of logistics, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. During this period, Chief Rothe provided expert guidance while serving as the Combat Air Force spokesman for the development and implementation of F-16 two-level maintenance. He orchestrated avionics test station redistribution to meet reduction requirements while maintaining critical go-to-war capabilities at F-16 units.

As the command’s premier aircraft avionics systems leader, Chief Rothe streamlined F-16 flight control software updates and slashed completion times by six months. Forward thinking, Chief Rothe brought the Logistics Directorate into the 21st century through developing its intricate network support plan to complete headquarters re-engineering initiatives.

He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and has recently been hired as senior network administrator for Lockheed Martin in Washington, D.C.